Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

। अथ सुपर्णाख्यमाहात्म्यं भविष्यंति । ऋषय ऊचुः । यदेतद्भवता प्रोक्तं तेजोवीर्यसमन्वितः । गरुडस्तेन संजज्ञे मुनीनां होमकर्मणा

Transliteration

| atha suparṇākhyamāhātmyaṃ bhaviṣyaṃti | ṛṣaya ūcuḥ | yadetadbhavatā proktaṃ tejovīryasamanvitaḥ | garuḍastena saṃjajñe munīnāṃ homakarmaṇā

Translation

ਹੁਣ “ਸੁਪਰਨ” ਨਾਮਕ ਮਾਹਾਤਮ੍ਯ ਹੋਵੇਗਾ। ਰਿਸ਼ੀਆਂ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ: “ਤੁਸੀਂ ਜੋ ਆਖਿਆ ਕਿ ਤੇਜ ਅਤੇ ਵੀਰਯ ਨਾਲ ਯੁਕਤ ਗਰੁੜ ਮੁਨੀਆਂ ਦੇ ਹੋਮ-ਕਰਮ ਨਾਲ ਉਤਪੰਨ ਹੋਇਆ—ਉਹ ਅਸੀਂ ਸਪਸ਼ਟ ਸੁਣਨਾ ਚਾਹੁੰਦੇ ਹਾਂ।”

Word by Word

• atha: now, then
• atha: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (discourse particle): 'now/then'

• suparṇa-ākhya-māhātmyam: the glory called ‘Suparṇa’
• suparṇa-ākhya-māhātmyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: suparṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + ākhya (प्रातिपदिक) + māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: 'māhātmya called Suparṇa'

• bhaviṣyanti: will be / will occur
• bhaviṣyanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• ṛṣayaḥ: the sages
• ṛṣayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• ūcuḥ: said
• ūcuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• yat: which
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun)

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• bhavatā: by you
• bhavatā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; आदरार्थ-प्रयोग (honorific 'you')

• proktam: spoken, declared
• proktam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + vac (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; 'spoken/declared'

• tejaḥ-vīrya-samanvitaḥ: endowed with brilliance and valor
• tejaḥ-vīrya-samanvitaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tejas (प्रातिपदिक) + vīrya (प्रातिपदिक) + samanvita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, सम्+√i)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास: 'endowed with splendor and strength'

• garuḍaḥ: Garuḍa
• garuḍaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: garuḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• tena: by that, thereby
• tena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• saṃjajñe: was born, came into being
• saṃjajñe: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam + jan (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• munīnām: of the sages
• munīnām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन

• homa-karmaṇā: by the act of oblation (homa)
• homa-karmaṇā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: homa (प्रातिपदिक) + karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास: 'homa-ritual act'

Speaker

Ṛṣayaḥ (Sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Suparṇa (Suparṇākhya)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An assembly of sages respectfully requests the narrator to relate the Suparṇa-māhātmya, emphasizing Garuḍa’s radiant, heroic birth through homa.

Characters & Entities

• Garuḍa
• Ṛṣayaḥ (sages)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred power (tejas) and divine outcomes are linked with dhārmic rites and the faithful performance of yajña/homa.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The passage introduces the “Suparṇa” Māhātmya, indicating a tīrtha or sacred locale/complex associated with Suparṇa (Garuḍa).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Homa (sacrificial oblations) performed by sages is referenced as the efficacious rite connected with Garuḍa’s manifestation.